New program tracks Gulf seafood

Published: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 8:34 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 8:34 p.m.

Where Gulf seafood comes from and how it's harvested is becoming less of a mystery.

A new seafood tracking program called Gulf Seafood Trace has been put in place this year in response to the 2010 BP oil spill that scared many people about eating Gulf seafood.

The program tracks Gulf seafood through traceability software that local seafood processors can register to use. It was created after the oil spill by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.

“We received money from Congress to reestablish the perception of the industry,” said Alex Miller, commission economic program coordinator. “We hired a number of contractors to put this program in place.”

The commission had 10 participants help test the system before it was launched at the Boston seafood show in March. Since then, 45 companies between the Florida Keys and Texas are enrolled with millions of pounds of seafood already being tracked.

“The big idea is by putting the electronic visibility in place, it gives confidence to market area and restaurants,” Miller said. “We want to empower the seafood industry with these tools. We want to help them overcome these perceptions and differentiate their product.”

One of the biggest challenges the seafood industry faces is imported products. The industry has a hard time differentiating itself from that. For the processors enrolled in the program, their clients are guaranteed their product is coming straight out of the Gulf.

Some other benefits are to help processors better manage their risk, improve efficiency and in some cases put them in a better position to improve sales and prices.

“That deals with everything. There are a variety of food safety challenges that would allow them to have a better grip of the situation. If there was a recall, they would know where it came from. They wouldn't have to throw out a huge amount of product but a small amount. If they get audited, they can show their records in a more efficient manner,” Miller said.

Mike Voisin, owner of Motivatit Seafood in Houma, owns one of three Houma companies that are part of the program. The others are Jensen Tuna and Nichole's Seafood.

Voisin was one of the first to get interested.

“I was working with (the fisheries commission) on an advisory panel to help them to set up the program, and then to participate was just natural.”

Voisin works in the oyster industry and is very familiar with tracking his product. Since oysters are considered one of the most high-risk seafoods, they are the most monitored in the world. Oyster traceability has been around for 80 to 90 years, Voisin said.

“It's helped us to refine some of our processes, and that will mean greater sales and opportunities.”

Motivatit Seafood is in the process of getting tags made for code purposes. Starting in March when the final program report is due, restaurants that purchase oysters from Motivatit will be able to scan the Quick Response code and pull up exactly where the product came from and how it was harvested.

“It can go down all the way to a picture of the harvested place when they scan the QR code. If a restaurant handled the product, they could put the QR code on the menu, and the customer can see it that way as well,” Voisin said.

If processors want to become a part of the program, they can go to gulfseafoodtrace.org and fill out the enrollment form. Once the information is submitted, they will be informed of the training session they need to complete.

“They will be taught how to use the technology to provide this electronic traceability to the marketplace,” Miller said.

Participants can use the system to send information to a buyer, store or restaurant.

“So the information keeps moving down the pipeline. We call it downstream,” Miller said.

Just like any other program starting out, there have been some glitches but nothing major. One of the main challenges Gulf Seafood Trace faces, Miller said, is having people overcome the old way of thinking, moving from paper to electronics.

“Change is sometimes difficult, and it's nothing against the businesses. It just requires a little bit of work. It's a new way of thinking. It gets you to a better place in the long run, and that's sort of the idea,” he said.

Only 20 to 25 percent of seafood processors use this program, with the majority being in Louisiana. The program will continue to be offered at no cost until 2014. After that, those who are enrolled will have to pay certain fees to contractors.

Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houmatoday.com.

<p>Where Gulf seafood comes from and how it's harvested is becoming less of a mystery.</p><p>A new seafood tracking program called Gulf Seafood Trace has been put in place this year in response to the 2010 BP oil spill that scared many people about eating Gulf seafood.</p><p>The program tracks Gulf seafood through traceability software that local seafood processors can register to use. It was created after the oil spill by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.</p><p>“We received money from Congress to reestablish the perception of the industry,” said Alex Miller, commission economic program coordinator. “We hired a number of contractors to put this program in place.”</p><p>The commission had 10 participants help test the system before it was launched at the Boston seafood show in March. Since then, 45 companies between the Florida Keys and Texas are enrolled with millions of pounds of seafood already being tracked. </p><p>“The big idea is by putting the electronic visibility in place, it gives confidence to market area and restaurants,” Miller said. “We want to empower the seafood industry with these tools. We want to help them overcome these perceptions and differentiate their product.” </p><p>One of the biggest challenges the seafood industry faces is imported products. The industry has a hard time differentiating itself from that. For the processors enrolled in the program, their clients are guaranteed their product is coming straight out of the Gulf.</p><p>Some other benefits are to help processors better manage their risk, improve efficiency and in some cases put them in a better position to improve sales and prices. </p><p>“That deals with everything. There are a variety of food safety challenges that would allow them to have a better grip of the situation. If there was a recall, they would know where it came from. They wouldn't have to throw out a huge amount of product but a small amount. If they get audited, they can show their records in a more efficient manner,” Miller said.</p><p>Mike Voisin, owner of Motivatit Seafood in Houma, owns one of three Houma companies that are part of the program. The others are Jensen Tuna and Nichole's Seafood.</p><p>Voisin was one of the first to get interested.</p><p>“I was working with (the fisheries commission) on an advisory panel to help them to set up the program, and then to participate was just natural.” </p><p>Voisin works in the oyster industry and is very familiar with tracking his product. Since oysters are considered one of the most high-risk seafoods, they are the most monitored in the world. Oyster traceability has been around for 80 to 90 years, Voisin said.</p><p>“It's helped us to refine some of our processes, and that will mean greater sales and opportunities.”</p><p>Motivatit Seafood is in the process of getting tags made for code purposes. Starting in March when the final program report is due, restaurants that purchase oysters from Motivatit will be able to scan the Quick Response code and pull up exactly where the product came from and how it was harvested.</p><p>“It can go down all the way to a picture of the harvested place when they scan the QR code. If a restaurant handled the product, they could put the QR code on the menu, and the customer can see it that way as well,” Voisin said.</p><p>If processors want to become a part of the program, they can go to gulfseafoodtrace.org and fill out the enrollment form. Once the information is submitted, they will be informed of the training session they need to complete.</p><p>“They will be taught how to use the technology to provide this electronic traceability to the marketplace,” Miller said.</p><p>Participants can use the system to send information to a buyer, store or restaurant.</p><p>“So the information keeps moving down the pipeline. We call it downstream,” Miller said.</p><p>Just like any other program starting out, there have been some glitches but nothing major. One of the main challenges Gulf Seafood Trace faces, Miller said, is having people overcome the old way of thinking, moving from paper to electronics.</p><p>“Change is sometimes difficult, and it's nothing against the businesses. It just requires a little bit of work. It's a new way of thinking. It gets you to a better place in the long run, and that's sort of the idea,” he said.</p><p>Only 20 to 25 percent of seafood processors use this program, with the majority being in Louisiana. The program will continue to be offered at no cost until 2014. After that, those who are enrolled will have to pay certain fees to contractors.</p><p>Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houmatoday.com.</p>